"
But in whatever sense the words "do this in remembrance of me" are to be
taken, the Quakers are of opinion, as far as St. Luke states the
circumstances, that they related solely to the disciples themselves.
Jesus Christ recommends it to those who were present, and to those only,
to do this in remembrance of him. But he no where tells them to order or
cause it to be done by the whole Christian world, as he told them to
"preach the Gospel to every creature."
To sum up the whole of what has been said in this chapter:--If we
consult St. Luke, and St. Luke only, all that we can collect on this
subject will be, that the future passover-suppers of Christ with his
disciples were to be spiritual; that his disciples were desired to break
their bread together in remembrance of him; or if, as Jews, they could
not relinquish the passover, to celebrate it with a new meaning; but
that this permission extended to those only who were present on that
occasion.
SECT. V.
_Account of St. Paul--He states that the words "do this in remembrance
of me" were used at the passover-supper--That they contained a
permission for a custom, in which both the bread and the wine were
included--That this custom was the passover, spiritualised by Jesus
Christ--But that it was to last but for a time--Some conjecture this
time to be the destruction of Jerusalem--But the Quakers, till the
disciples had attained such a spiritual growth, that they felt Christ's
kingdom substantially in their hearts--And as it was thus limited to
them, so it was limited to such Jewish converts as might have adopted it
in their times.
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